Tracks Birding & Photography Tours | Birding with a camera & Bird Photography Tours

We (four friends) did an 18-day tour with Laurie in Sept-Oct 2023 from Darwin to Mount Isa to Birdsville and back to Mount Isa. The conditions in the outback were superb after good rains and the birding was amazing. We saw around 280 species, including 6 species of Grasswren, Red Goshawk (two nests including a brand new one), Letter-winged Kite and Grey Falcon.Laurie's abilities in the field are outstanding. He has exceptional vision and hearing and clearly knows the target birds, their habitat and habits intimately. His bird knowledge and experience as an outstanding bird photographer means that he has an amazing ability to get the birds to show well, allowing everyone good views and frequently offering incredible photo opportunities. Laurie has spent a lot of time in the outback and will take his guest to sites not generally known by other tour guides.The organisation of the tour was impeccable. We usually stayed in the best available accommodation and he knows some great little cafes. The food exceeded our expectations of outback NT!We travelled in a brand new Toyota Landcruiser and Laurie proved an excellent driver - something that's important when you travel thousands of kilometers through the outback.Laurie was excellent company for the entire trip and acted in a highly professional manner at all times. He never lost sight of the purpose of the tour, and he always had a back-up plan if a target bird didn't show. As a result, we saw virtually all our target species, plus lots more.We'd love to do another tour with Laurie and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him as a highly competent, friendly, fun and well-organised bird guide.

I don't know how Laurie does it, but he combines patience, expertise, careful planning with his magic of finding birds! His eyes and ears are highly tuned to help clients get the very best experience. A truly wonderful trip with a superb guide and a bunch of birding friends. I have come home with many spectacular images, memories and can't wait to join Laurie again in another part of our wonderful country.

Just finished a fabulous four day Darwin/Top End Tour with Laurie Ross.He really should change the advertising to Laurie's gourmet meals and coffee with exceptional birding on the side."We all had a fantastic time

My wife and I went on a 3 week tour with Laurie Ross of Tracks Birding. We had a fantastic trip. Even though the weather and flooding required a change in our itinerary just a day before we arrived in Australia, Laurie was able to get us to great places. I had asked Laurie to try to get us to see as many parrots species as possible, and he set up the trip with this as a goal. Laurie clearly knew just where to take us. His knowledge of the birds, their calls, and how to best set up to get great photos is unsurpassed. He would frequently stop because he heard a bird call that none of us heard and would then work hard to get us images. In the end, we photographed about 20 species of parrots and also got shots of innumerable other types of birds. I can not recommend Laurie more highly as a knowledgeable, extremely competent, and accommodating guide.

The info shared on the website has been so helpful with research I needed to do. Easy to follow for an amateur like myself and generous with great spots to make the most of your birding experience.

We have just done Laurie’s 8 day tour of western Queensland. It was a really well planned and well paced itinerary covering a wide range of habitats without being exhausting. He found us 160 species and, with his guidance, we got high quality images of many of them, including some notable grasswren, raptor and other rarities. We had given him a ‘most wanted’ list of 20 species and he found them all. I also learnt a great deal about the birds, and bird photography – in my experience Laurie has a unique combination of elite birding and bird photography skills. And he is also great company. We’ll certainly be going on more trips with Laurie and recommend him without any reservations as both a guide and bird photographer.

Posted from Howard who travelled with us:I would like to endorse the review posted by Hans Wohlmuth & add my own additional comments as follows. I have been on over 90 foreign birdwatching trip during my 43 years of birding, including 9 trips to Australia. I can honestly say that Laurie Ross is the best guide I have ever birded with. His eyesight & hearing are outstanding & his ability to get people onto birds & to get birds into good viewing positions is amazing. I was also very impressed with his organisational & planning abilities as every aspect of the trip ran like clockwork, which was all the more impressive as we were moving to new locations either every day or every second day. An amazing trip in every way. Howard Jolliffe

Thank you Laurie for an exceptional Ultimate Top End Tour, spending time in Darwin, Kakadu, Pine Creek, Katherine and Timber Creek. At last count we photographed around 120 bird species.Laurie is a very professional guide. Spend some time with Laurie and one realises the time, thought and energy that is part of the detailed planning and execution of his trips. Laurie readily shares his knowledge of birds, their habits and habitat as well as his skills as a photographer. While Laurie is relaxed and fun to be with he is ever watchful, seeing birds which to my eyes were hidden amongst the foliage. He made many a u-turn to to point out and enable us to photograph an elusive species.I am a better photographer for having spent time with Laurie and have already booked another trip with him. Thanks Laurie.

After just completing Laurie’s Top End Tour I could not recommend Laurie and Tracks Birding highly enough. Laurie was extraordinarily organised and informative. Laurie’s knowledge of the area, the birds and where to find them was amazing. Laurie’s willingness to share his knowledge about birds and how to photograph them led to a great improvement in my photography. We spent 8 or more hours every day looking for and photographing birds. We found species I had never heard of. Laurie managed to get you as close as possible to ensure top images. If you want a great birding experience call Laurie. You will not be disappointed.

We had another fantastic birding tour with Laurie at the beginning of this month in Cape York/Iron Range NP (previously in Darwin/Kakadu & Central Australia). He plans every aspect of the tour meticulously, considering the environmental conditions, our birding skills and target species and our level of fitness, to ensure the best birding experience possible. He is extraordinarily skillful at locating and observing birds and wildlife generally. Laurie is happy, easy going and flexible and is delightful company. Our tours have been exciting, stress-free and we have seen so much more than we ever expected! Thank you again Laurie - we have memories to treasure forever! Sue and Paul